Farther Away You Go
by BelovedSlayer
Summary: Angel is setting to leave Sunnydale and throw his relationship with Buffy to the curve in order to broaden his successful business in a foreign country. Can Buffy convince him to keep their relationship alive? Or will they let each other go in the end?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Farther Away You Go

TV Show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Author: Beloved Slayer

Rating: T

Full summary: Angel is setting to leave Sunnydale and throw his relationship with Buffy to the curve in order to broaden his successful business in a foreign country. Can Buffy convince him to stay and try to keep their relationship alive? Or will they let each other go in the end?

Author's Notes: Takes place sometime after season seven, but is alternate universe. One shot, but it may continue with at least two or more chapters, it's still undecided. Angel may seem a bit cold in this story, just to let you guys know, but don't give up hope yet, hopefully, hehe. There's probably going to be at least three chapters or so for this story. All feedback and reviews are greatly appreciated. Enjoy guys!

Chapter One

_Ring. Ring. Ring. _

"Oh, Angel, please pick up the damn phone," I muttered anxiously over the mouthpiece, fidgeting with the hem of my inky black skirt as I attempted to push a fresh trail of tears down from obscuring my hazel eyes.

_Why hadn't he told me about the news earlier? Why did I have to find out second hand? _I mentally wondered with a frown, anticipation marring with a single bout of nervousness that overcame me. "Hello?" I queried, hoping to hear his voice on the other end of the line. Instead, it was his answer machine that had picked up the call, his message replaying on the earpiece.

"_Sorry, but I'm not here at the moment. Leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."_

A beep signaled the end of the message, and the call as I placed the telephone back on the receiver.

The same frown that graced my features became a thin, frustrated line. I was becoming more worried than angry, inexplicably. Then the vibrate ringing of my cell phone emanated from the side of my hip; I didn't waste time to flip it open, hoping against hope that it was the man I loved on the other end. "Angel?" I called meekly, dabbing my damp eyes with a Kleenex, my heart thumping rapidly against my chest.

"Buffy? What's wrong?" His voice sounded shrill. "Why didn't you tell me?" I accused, my own voice stern. "Tell you what?"

"Don't fool me. You know what I'm talking about!"

Silence on the other line. "Because I didn't know how to explain it to you. I didn't want you to be angry at me, that's why I didn't tell you in the first place."

"You're planning on moving to another country, expand your business, and leave me forever, is that it? Is that your plan? You're damn right to think I wouldn't understand, because I honestly don't," I continued weakly, my eyes now a blurry vision as I angrily swiped another Kleenex, now protruding to my feet, heels clacking against the polished wooden floor of our bedroom.

My mind was swirling with a thousand running thoughts, my eyes brimmed with redness, my voice threatening to crack. "_What if I don't see you again?" What's gonna happen to us?" _

Angel didn't respond to the difficult questions. Instead, he answered with a robotic, "I'll be home tonight. Then we'll talk. Bye."

And with the final click, the line disconnected.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: Thanks everyone for the reviews and for the alerts, I'm really happy to read the response has been a positive one. I originally decided to write this story as three chapters, and also to post it earlier, but I decided instead to write a lengthy chapter two and make it the final one for this story. This is all human and the situation Buffy and Angel are involved in resembles more normalcy than supernatural, which was what I was aiming for, and their situation is explained in more detail. All feedback and reviews are greatly encouraged. Enjoy! And as far as Night's Child is concerned, I'll be updating that story very soon as I'll be having school break starting later this week. Ye gods, I took a different approach to this chapter just to let you know. Now, really, enjoy!

Chapter Two

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

_It's late and I'm still waiting for you to come home. _

_At nightfall all will be long for you and me _

It was close to seven o'clock that very same evening, and I was now pacing back and forth in a nervous gesture underneath the archway that connected the living room to the gourmet kitchen, my Jimmy Choo heels clacking loudly on the marble pavement as I waited for Angel's arrival. I glanced quickly at my watch for the second time in less than a minute.

He wasn't here. I was alone. Relief wasn't what I was feeling. Empty was the more appropriate term, besides frazzle and confusion.

What good was it to have a nice house, money, and a new sports car if the costly price was barely spending any time with my boyfriend, thus creating problems that I wasn't entirely sure we would overcome?

It hasn't been twice this week that I had spent enough time with him due to frequent time constraints and the long hours that were slowly coming between us, and now, the reality of being separated by long distance was closer and closer coming to pass, and I felt saddened by the realization that soon we were going to part. It was another problem that had been added to the thick pile that was our relationship.

Maybe I was becoming a bit too reliant on him; expecting him to fix everything and look after me as if I was a infant and not an independent adult. Reluctantly, I admit in that I haven't been the most supportive of him during the past year. Maybe that was what had lead us to this mess. But I knew it wasn't entirely my fault that this was happening. We were having problems in the second year that we had spent together, and from there on, it had only continued to spread.

Secretly, I've always wondered why I had stayed in the first place. Perhaps it's too late to change things now.

I sighed in that same ounce of confusion, my emotions on the verge of reaching a breaking point, but I attempted to suppress them from further erosion. It was useless for my feelings to explode without an outlet, and I knew better than to take that out on him. I had to remain calm, for both our benefits. Or at least, mine.

It wasn't an easy task, I can tell you that.

It had been close to seven hours since Angel and I had last spoke on the phone, and I could barely contain myself, my nerves fraying from some frenetic energy that was coursing through my veins. I was about to reach for the cordless phone when I heard the sounds of jangling keys emitting from the other side of the large cherry wood door.

I knew who it was immediately. It was him. I wasn't excited to see him finally arriving home. Instead, that emotion was also filled with wary and dread. I strutted towards the couch, leaning my body against the arm portion, my arms folding across the chest of the silk pajama camisole.

The sounds of a suitcase plopping against an oak desk could be heard within a few feet. I decided to perch quietly against the nearest armrest, my eyes never leaving Angel's swift movements as he entered the darkened living room.

"Angel," I queried, cocking an eyebrow. "Buffy? What are you doing up?" His voice resounded from the other side as he cautiously approached me, a seemingly worried expression written on his handsome face.

"I was gonna ask you the same thing. What took you so long? You should had been home hours ago. I was worried. I was hoping we would talk. I don't want to left out what happened earlier."

"I know. I'm so sorry that I couldn't be here sooner. But I just wrapped up a meeting with a few of the stockholders who were interested in buying out some of the company. That's why I took so long. I hope you weren't waiting up for me," he continued, slumping his shoulders, his body posture not indicating anything other than stress.

I sighed. I didn't know what to believe anymore. A gut feeling was telling me that he wasn't entirely sincere with his words. And unfortunately, it wouldn't have been the first time. There were a few times in the past in which I would wonder whether staying with him was worth moving up the ladder while being glued to his side. Whether he was worth loving for in spite of the countless gifts he had given me throughout the years. Whether it was worth staying with a man who wasn't entirely upfront with his feelings.

I realized that money wouldn't buy ourselves out of this situation. It was something that became inevitable, and somehow, I would have to live with that. And so would he. Whatever is gonna happen, it would. It was out of our hands at this point.

"So, should we start talking, or what?" I asked in a awkward motion of my head. "About what?" he retorted, pretending not to know. "You know damn well what! Are you still planning on moving out of the country?"

He resigned with a stiff expression, avoiding my gaze. He motioned his head to focus on the flat screen TV, as if it was going to provide him with the answers he needed to respond to my question. "Are you going to support me if I decide to?" He threw a question of his own, his eyes suddenly cold as ice chips. This was the last straw. Despite the many wonderful moments we've have had, none of them could make up for the horrible moments we had to overcome, including the many personality changes that had been shifting over the five years we've spent; from a good, decent, honest man, to one in which there was no love, just heartlessness, impatience, and bitterness obscuring underneath his handsome exterior.

I wanted to end this. No matter if a part of me was screaming at me to stay with him, the other part of me had had enough. I was done. Tonight, the ties will cut.

Staying quiet, I unclasped the watch that Angel had given to me for my recent birthday, and recklessly tossed it directly towards his feet, not giving a damn that it was worth over forty thousand dollars of his own money. It was an item that I now deemed unnecessary to keep.

"At first, I was upset that you were going to leave me alone again. Then, when you too damn busy working as always, I thought back to all those times where life then wasn't so great for us. I thought back to all those times when you would treat me like I was a lower being than you. Not anymore. I'm leaving, and that's that. I'm not going to support you anymore. So there's your answer." I walked quickly to my room, reaching for my suitcases underneath the foot of the four poster bed.

I could hear his heavy footsteps protruding from behind. "What? Are you serious? You can't do this!" I hear his voice raise in disbelief. "Watch me."

"You can't do this!" He repeated, reaching for my arm. "You need me. I love you."

I held my steely gaze firmly against his. "Not anymore. You're not the only one who can make it on their own. When was the last time you truly meant that you loved me? It's been ages. I don't think you feel the same way about me anymore, do you? Can you honestly tell me that?" were my final words and questions as I packed every last business suit, pants, jeans, makeup, anything that belonged to me, and placed it inside the various suitcases.

Angel was still behind me, not uttering a word, his facial expression one of shock, and some remorse. I had noticed that he didn't answer as to whether or not he sincerely loved me. His silence was enough to satisfy me. "So long and goodnight. I did love you. I still do, but now I have to move on and find my own way again. I can't be with you anymore," I muttered sadly over my shoulder, heading out to the front door as he stood in the entrance way.

The sounds of whimpering broke my ears, but I didn't look back. The image of him standing in the bedroom was the last time I ever saw him.

I was free.

And I never looked back.

Fin.


	3. Epilogue

Author's Note: Oh wow, thank you all for the tremendous feedback, story alerts, etc, etc! I originally was gonna have the second chapter be posted as the final for this, but after reading a review, I decided to end it with an epilogue. I hope it satisfies and leaves a decent ending. If not, let me know! All feedback and reviews are greatly appreciated as always. Enjoy!

Epilogue

Five years later…

I hadn't seen Angel again since that very night. Nor had I ever received another call or text from him. After when I ended the relationship, we quietly went our separate ways, never again speaking to one another. It was as if we hadn't existed together; our memories ceasing to exist. Over a long amount of time, some of them had faded, becoming nothing more than a foray of blurry images, and that was what I had wanted. What I had hoped for. To not remember everything.

But I forced myself to deal with it all by eventually learning to move on emotionally rather than physically, and by also confronting my troubled emotions to a certified therapist who had assisted me every step of the way. She was a godsend.

That was almost three years ago to the day.

Nowadays, I was more happy and carefree than I had ever been, despite being divorced just recently from an ex who had wanted nothing to do with our two year old daughter, who was the most beautiful thing in the world to me. I currently operated a successful makeup and salon business that would soon be expanding, while working my way towards the top in order to support my then six month old child after the initial court proceedings.

Being single wasn't as horrible as other people had perceived. It was what I had desperately needed; to contemplate on becoming a better person and to deal with my past problems and moving on forward before involving myself with another. Sometimes, you have to step back and decide what course of action to take before jumping into the frying pan.

It was a blessing, and so was my daughter, whom I had named Hope. She had her father's dark hair and eyes, but she had my smile, my wit, and my personality. I flashed her a grin as she went on playing duck, duck, goose with the other kids her age, pigtails flying behind her.

As I sat on the bench in quiet wonder, my eyes widened in surprise at the arrival of a familiar man getting out from the driver seat of a white SUV in the parking lot. I clasped my hand to my mouth, narrowing my eyes against the bright sun.

No, it couldn't be? Could it?

I couldn't believe it. After all this time…

It was Angel. And he wasn't alone. Escorting beside him was a little boy about three years old, and his features were simply _his. _I knew instinctively that the boy was Angel's son. He was a mini doppelganger version of the man I had once loved.

I was beyond astonished.

Even for a father, Angel still looked exactly as he did five years old: tall, dark, charismatic, and extremely handsome. He appeared incredible for his age; so much so that almost every female mother with a child latched to their hip were gawking at him with unbinding desire.

He didn't notice me at first. He didn't notice that my hair had now grown past my shoulders, in tight blond ringlets, or that my eyes had finally escaped the sullen appearance that had developed in the second year of our relationship. Then, he caught my peering eyes with his chocolate orbs, his mouth dropping in sudden shock as he approached me, the same way he had approached me the first moment love had intercepted.

"Buffy? Is that really you?" He exclaimed, perching carefully on the other side of the bench I was occupying, his eyes never leaving mine. I flashed him a grin, realizing that my heart had started picking up speed at the unexpected reappearance into my life.

"Yeah, it's me. You look…the same," I quipped, struggling to keep a fit of laughter from exploding. He snorted. "You do too, except your hair is longer…and you look _happier_," his voice took on a regretful tone, and we both fell into an impeccable silence.

I decided to break the ice. "You don't have to say anything," I started, not realizing that I placed my hand on top of his to comfort him. He gave my hand a gentle squeeze, and I shivered inwardly. "But I have to. For everything that I've done to you, and to us. I really am sorry…for not seeing what my career was doing to us a long time ago."

This time, I detected sincere remorse in his eyes. Nothing that was not genuine. Something was different this time. I wondered to myself at what was the direct cause of it. I didn't raise my hopes just yet. "What changed?"

"My wife filed divorce papers; she felt that I was spending too much time at my job and not enough with her. And then, we had our son. That pretty much changed everything. It made me realize not to take everything for granted anymore."

"Daddy, can I go play with the other kids?" Angel's son was tugging on his sleeve impatiently, interrupting the conversation, but was producing a handsome smile that matched his father's. He was going to be a heartbreaker someday. I couldn't help but throw him a grin of my own.

"Sure, but be careful," Angel insisted, and off the little version of him went with enthusiasm.

"I'm sorry," I began, but he furiously shook his head. "Don't be. I learned my lesson, even if it took years for it to open my eyes and not be so stupid anymore. I didn't think I'd find you here after what happen years ago," he confessed with a soft mumble that no one but myself could hear. He took me utterly by surprise by a question he suddenly asked.

_"Do you hate me?"_

The question took my breath away. Did I hate him after all he had put both myself and him through? I pondered for a moment, realizing my answer.

"No, Angel, I don't hate you. I forgive you," I insisted, and the last weight of my shoulders was lifted, and it was then that I felt a true sense of relief. It felt more than right. I didn't hate him anymore. I was willing to start over and write a new chapter in my life. "Why?" he asked, out of curiosity.

"Because it takes more strength to forgive someone, rather than carry the burden of hate for the rest of their life. I'm willing to move on. And I missed you."

"I missed you too. I really did. I don't want to make the same mistake again. I'm more than willing to start fresh, if you are. Are you willing to give us a second chance?" Another difficult question that I had to endure. Was I willing to give him that chance, even if the risk of being hurt again twice was there?

Instead of answering with words, I answered by scooting closer to him, my chest and hips facing his, while intertwining my fingers with his. I felt his cool breath on mine, tickling across my skin as our lips touched gently.

One word was the only one that needed to be said to secure the potential bond.

"Yes."

Fin.


End file.
